Difference between revisions of "GIMP: Quality Normal Maps"

Select areas of your normal map that should have less shine to them, and then click on the "Eraser" tool. Under the settings, make sure the opacity is '''not''' set to 100%, as this will also get rid of your directional data. I repeat, '''make sure the opacity setting is below 100%'''. A value of 90% is usually pretty good for rough woods, and a value of 85% for shinier woods. Material such as leather should be set even higher (higher opacity on the eraser will make pixels more transparent, and likewise less shiny). If you click and drag to erase all of the pixels you have selected at once, you should not run into any problems, however if you let go of the left mouse button, and then continue erasing, you may erase the pixels completely and therefore get rid of your directional data, which will ultimately make your normal map useless. An easy way to check this is by looking at the "Channels" dialog, and making sure there is no solid black in the color channels (not the alpha channel). If there is solid black, you should undo your erasing and start over, being careful not to let go of the left mouse button as you erase. You may still see a faint ghost-image remaining where you erase, and this is a '''good thing''', however do not be worried if you do not, it just means the opacity of the eraser was rather high.